MobileKids has been here in India since 2018. A lot of children in Indian cities either walk or cycle to school, so it's really important that we show kids at an early age how to cope on the roads. And the traffic here can certainly be chaotic sometimes!
Meanwhile, 100 schools with more than 15,000 students are taking part in MobileKids – that makes me so happy! Children studying in classes 4, 5 and 6 even have MobileKids lessons as part of their timetable, learning from some really dedicated teachers about how to cope safely in traffic, whether they travel by bus, train, bike or on foot.
But here in Bangalore, it's not just about swotting for the MobileKids tests at school. With me – Moki – they can experience a whole range of activities: thanks to the cooperation between Mercedes-Benz Research & Development India and the Bangalore Traffic Police, Fire Department and other such bodies, they get some really exciting insight into traffic control centres, fire stations and so on!
I've recently visited 20 schools in India on a very particular mission. Working with staff from Mercedes-Benz Research & Development India (MBRDI) and the students themselves, we took a really close look at the infrastructure surrounding these schools: we wanted to find out what we can do to improve road safety around the school sites. Thanks to their MobileKids lessons, these bright young students very quickly identified the areas where improvements still need to be made to the traffic infrastructure in the approach to their schools.
The involvement of the children and of the MBRDI definitely paid off: we are proud to say that 450 potholes have been repaired, 200 traffic signs, along with reflective road markers and safety mirrors have been installed around the schools to make the roads safer for children! At this year's big annual MobileKids event in India, the management team of the MBRDI expressed their thanks for the schools' involvement – the students should be very proud of themselves!
Together with Mercedes-Benz Research & Development India, we are hoping to extend our MobileKids programme in India over the next few years. More schools in Bangalore & Pune will become "Safe School Zones" – with help from Moki and, of course, from the youngsters themselves at the various schools. Here's to improved road safety in India!
Moki is the mascot of MobileKids.
MobileKids is not the only organisation committed to improving road safety. With the SAFE ROADS initiative, Mercedes-Benz has been committed to increasing public awareness of road safety globally since 2015. "At the time, we were intensively analysing the number of road accident victims within the Group's own accident research department and looking at what the situation was worldwide," says Jochen Feese, head of accident research. "We realised that India had more accidents involving children than other countries. That's why we wanted to start there." SAFE ROADS was born. In the same year, Jochen Feese and his colleagues travelled through eight Indian cities with their own programme aimed at improving road safety. In addition to presentations on the topics of traffic and vehicle safety, this also included an exhibition with several experience exhibits.
SAFE ROADS was then further developed so that the format can be repeated every two years with a different focus at a different location. While the focus in 2017 was on children's road safety, in 2019 it was on the future of safety and in 2022 on data usage. "In addition to the multi-faceted programme, it is very important to us that we bring together many stakeholders involved in road safety with SAFE ROADS", says Feese. This also includes suppliers of safety and security systems, government and authority representatives, urban planners, and non-government organisations.
In addition to India, the Group's own SAFE ROADS initiative is now also active in China “to sensitise all road users to the challenges of road traffic”.